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Thoughts on buying cheaper custom basses?
- Thread starter starrtwo
- Start date
I would either:
- Make my own parts bass
- Buy a used bass
- Buy a MIM or Korea/Indonesia bass
- or maybe even pop into the luthier's section to see what goodies they have. You might get something good for a decent price if they are building up their name.
if the ax has all of the pieces/parts you're looking for, already assembled into one package: $650 is a good price for a possible 'priceless' instrument. of course, real pricelessness is in the feel/playing of the thing. so there's that. OTOH: a lot of folks spend a lot more on pieces that end up being a bust after the shine wears off...TB is littered with those.
IMO: it's not a custom bass so much as a possibly well-executed, nice looking parts assembly. whether or not it would float your boat is your own 'subjective'. if you and the bass were to fit together, excellently = a steal! good luck with your perusing and your decisions!
IMO: it's not a custom bass so much as a possibly well-executed, nice looking parts assembly. whether or not it would float your boat is your own 'subjective'. if you and the bass were to fit together, excellently = a steal! good luck with your perusing and your decisions!
in that market, used warmoth is a really great middle ground.
the bodies and necks are absolutely fantastic - some of the very best, honestly. a warmoth exotic wood neck (wenge, purpleheart, etc) with a nice fingerboard (ebony!) is as nice as any other neck that can be made in my experience - it's just up to all the other components to be equally as great.
the bodies and necks are absolutely fantastic - some of the very best, honestly. a warmoth exotic wood neck (wenge, purpleheart, etc) with a nice fingerboard (ebony!) is as nice as any other neck that can be made in my experience - it's just up to all the other components to be equally as great.
I'm wondering why all the hair splitting over calling this bass a custom? Granted custom in this case is as much of a stretch as calling an old bass "vintage", but it's a minor thing and not what the OP was trying to get info on.
As for a good deal? You can get a decent raw wood Fender clone body from any number of ebay sellers for around $25~$50 depending on wood type. That the seller called it a licensed neck would most likely make it a Mighty Mite as every Mighty Mite body and neck seller on ebay uses that point in their item descriptions. The bridge looks more like a Gotoh knockoff with unplated saddles than a Hipshot, but i'm not familiar with the various Hipshot bass bridges. As an owner of Hipshot HB7's i feel comfortable saying those look legit, as does the Dimarzio blade.
So here's what i see
Body $35
Neck $125
Bridge $30
Tuners $100
Pups $100
Tort guard $15
Control set $30
Misc hardware $50
so i'd figure he's in the neighborhood of $400~$500 for components, but that does not include the cost of material and supplies to finish the body, or any labor for body finishing or assembly of the components, and we don't know how much (if any) time was spent on the individual components to insure proper fit and function. In that group, fret dressing/leveling would likely be the most time consuming, but the only way to know how much time went into proper assembly and setup would be to lay hands on it and give it a good test drive, which brings me to my hard learned ironclad rule regards buying any used parts or built to order bass. If i can't try it before I buy it, I don't buy it.
It looks good but my original bass from when i was a kid looks fine hanging on the wall in my dad's music room, but it plays for poopie.
Short form on this bass, at least for me is given it's good looks in the photos and the sellers asking price, if it plays as good as it looks i'd be very interested in making the seller an offer if i was in the market for a P bass.
As for a good deal? You can get a decent raw wood Fender clone body from any number of ebay sellers for around $25~$50 depending on wood type. That the seller called it a licensed neck would most likely make it a Mighty Mite as every Mighty Mite body and neck seller on ebay uses that point in their item descriptions. The bridge looks more like a Gotoh knockoff with unplated saddles than a Hipshot, but i'm not familiar with the various Hipshot bass bridges. As an owner of Hipshot HB7's i feel comfortable saying those look legit, as does the Dimarzio blade.
So here's what i see
Body $35
Neck $125
Bridge $30
Tuners $100
Pups $100
Tort guard $15
Control set $30
Misc hardware $50
so i'd figure he's in the neighborhood of $400~$500 for components, but that does not include the cost of material and supplies to finish the body, or any labor for body finishing or assembly of the components, and we don't know how much (if any) time was spent on the individual components to insure proper fit and function. In that group, fret dressing/leveling would likely be the most time consuming, but the only way to know how much time went into proper assembly and setup would be to lay hands on it and give it a good test drive, which brings me to my hard learned ironclad rule regards buying any used parts or built to order bass. If i can't try it before I buy it, I don't buy it.
It looks good but my original bass from when i was a kid looks fine hanging on the wall in my dad's music room, but it plays for poopie.
Short form on this bass, at least for me is given it's good looks in the photos and the sellers asking price, if it plays as good as it looks i'd be very interested in making the seller an offer if i was in the market for a P bass.
I don't know if I would buy a bass without knowing who made it. Especially from a wild source like ebay.
That said, that bass looks pretty cool. It has a better pickup than any Fender. It has better machines than any Fender ever made. And it has an Allparts string retainer so you don't have to compensate for the buzzing A string. Still, it is a pretty big risk if you don't know the condition of the neck and whether it will properly intonate, etc. I like the color. If it was hanging on a hook locally I might take a look at it. But I wouldn't buy that blind since you can get a nice neck and the parts from a handful of makers. "Custom" means different things to different people.
That said, that bass looks pretty cool. It has a better pickup than any Fender. It has better machines than any Fender ever made. And it has an Allparts string retainer so you don't have to compensate for the buzzing A string. Still, it is a pretty big risk if you don't know the condition of the neck and whether it will properly intonate, etc. I like the color. If it was hanging on a hook locally I might take a look at it. But I wouldn't buy that blind since you can get a nice neck and the parts from a handful of makers. "Custom" means different things to different people.
It's not a custom bass, it's a parts bass. IMHO anyway.
I wouldn't buy it without trying it. For a little more you can find an MIA Fender Precision, if you're not in a hurry.
I wouldn't buy it without trying it. For a little more you can find an MIA Fender Precision, if you're not in a hurry.
Thanks very much for the helpful response. Agreed, I don't really care whether or not it's called a custom bass or a parts bass haha. Thanks again for your input.
Having recently completed my own partscaster, (sound unheard) I like this bass. Price-wise it is similar to a new MIM Fender bass. Can you get an MIM bass that looks the same as this? Fender can be limiting in their color choices. The body looks like a good piece of wood and not too heavy of a poly finish. Any inferior parts you can upgrade later. You would probably have to do that with an MIM Fender bass too.If you haven't got the time or space to build your own, I would take a shot at this bass.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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Is there a true definition of 'parts bass', or 'custom bass' for that matter?
It's a parts bass someone put together.
Plenty of people do it.
The price is questionable, plenty of other basses available for that kind of money, especially since you won't get the chance to play it.
Basically, it's an unknown quantity from a "luthier" with no real track record.
Plenty of people do it.
The price is questionable, plenty of other basses available for that kind of money, especially since you won't get the chance to play it.
Basically, it's an unknown quantity from a "luthier" with no real track record.
@starrtwo this ^
The Fender Player series is super solid. Only $700 new and buying through a store like SweetWater gets you excellent customer service if something is wrong with it... I do not work for Sweetwater...
Thats actually, not bad. I was expecting a real specimen based on that link....
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I'm probably paranoid, and it could be a fine bass, but for $650, you could get an official branded bass from a reputable brand or shop.
Looks to be a decent parts bass. My advice, rather than buying that you could piece together a parts bass yourself. You could even just buy a used Fender or Warmoth bass at the same price.
Here is my 2 cents, take it for what it's worth,
It is a clean looking bass. Just bear this in mind.......you might not be able to sell it for what you paid for it. I own lots of parts basses....I built them for myself. I know I will not get what I have into them in parts should I choose to sell them. I basically purchase quality bodies, necks, hardware and electronics.....all to make a "fender style" bass . That is basically what this is.
It is a clean looking bass. Just bear this in mind.......you might not be able to sell it for what you paid for it. I own lots of parts basses....I built them for myself. I know I will not get what I have into them in parts should I choose to sell them. I basically purchase quality bodies, necks, hardware and electronics.....all to make a "fender style" bass . That is basically what this is.
